The invention relates to a resilient wheel structure, able to withstand significant loading. In certain embodiments, the wheels of the present invention can be mounted to a vehicle to allow the vehicle to withstand significant impacts. Such a vehicle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,989, which disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.
A number of resilient wheel designs exist in the prior art. For example, Great Britain Pat. No 1 292 928, published Oct. 18, 1972, discloses a spring-type wheel which allows resilient radial movement of the rim relative to the hub. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,577, issued Nov. 19, 1985, discloses a wheel structure that allows each spoke to come into contact with an adjacent spoke, which limits the distortion of the spokes under load. Each of these wheels is designed to absorb radial energy only and do not provide complete load distribution.
The wheel structures that have been used in the prior art exhibit various shortcomings, many of which are addressed by the present invention.
The present invention provides a modified and improved form of such a wheel particularly suited for use with delicate electronics mounted onto a mobile platform.
In accordance with the present invention a resilient wheel structure comprises a continuous, annular rim, a hub and a plurality of spokes connecting the hub to the rim, wherein the particular curvature of the spokes provide absorption of energy caused by sudden loads in any direction, and wherein the rim is sufficiently stiff to transmit the load to all of the spokes.
Accordingly, the present invention has several objects and advantages.
It is an object of the invention to provide a wheel with a rim sufficiently stiff to effectively distribute load to all of the spokes of the wheel.
It is an object of the invention to have a wheel such that loading is evenly distributed. It is a further object of the invention to provide a wheel able to absorb loads from impacts or shock in any direction, not merely radial loads.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a resilient wheel that can be conventionally machined.
It is an object of the invention to provide a wheel with maximum energy absorption capacity while minimizing the weight.
It is an object of the invention to provide a wheel suitable for use in a mobile robot that can be deployed by being thrown into a building or dropped from a helicopter, wherein the wheels and/or wheels with tracks protect the body of the robot during high impact deployment.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, including the associated drawings, and from the claims.